Logistics / Modes of Transport

Doing the Right Thing

“I thought you’d be mad.” “Are you kidding me?! I’m telling EVERYBODY!!!” This is the true story (as I know it) of a girl who did the right thing. My daughter was just finishing up four months of studying abroad for college. Before returning home, she and her roommate, who...

Activities / Logistics / Modes of Transport / USA

NYC on $100 a Day

Standing near the base of the Statue of Liberty and looking up into her giant green face, it struck me that I had actually done it. No one believed I could. Not even me. Yet here we were. As I looked up at the face of Lady Liberty, I felt...

South America

Spending Like a Drunken Sailor… And Getting Change Back!

I noted in my first article on super cheap trips how I arrived at my choice to visit Bogota, Colombia in part because round trip flights to there were so ridiculously cheap. Having now completed that trip, it isn’t just the flights that are ridiculously cheap. Everything there is so...

Adventure / Miscellaneous / South America

How I Unintentionally Became an International Drug Runner

I expected armed DEA agents to kick down my door any minute. Before my trip to Peru, I got lots of advice and warnings about altitude sickness. Much of it said that drinking coca tea would help. Search though I might, I could not find any coca tea before our...

Adventure / Modes of Transport / Off-the-beaten-path / South America

Worst (or Best) Taxi Ride Ever

You might say he was in the wrong line of work. A taxi driver whose driving skills are basic at best and who doesn’t know his way around his own city. He not only had to use GPS but also stop to ask directions. Four times! I’ll be the first...

Logistics

Dude, where’s my car?

When departing for a trip, the very first vacation photo you must always take is of your car with the sign in the background showing where in the parking lot you left it. Bear in mind that some parking lots have stupid systems. For instance, at the long term economy...

Activities / Nature / Tropics

Drunk Snorkeling with Sea Turtles

With my face in the water I can hear nothing but the sound of my own breathing. I am enveloped in a peaceful, tranquil, blue world. One filled with sea turtles. A lot of people talk about what a fantastic experience it is to swim with dolphins. Admittedly, the idea...

Facts & Trivia / Miscellaneous

Breaking the Law… by Wearing Camouflage

Throughout all the islands of the West Indies, there are laws prohibiting anyone from buying, selling, owning or wearing any article of camouflage clothing. I forgot to mention this to my daughter and did not notice as we flew into Trinidad that she was wearing camouflage cargo shorts. They apparently...

Adventure / Modes of Transport / Nature / Off-the-beaten-path / USA / Wandering

Dinosaur Fossils and the Indestructible Camera

“Look straight down,” the balloonist told us, “you see that dirt road that kind of squiggles off to the left? If you were to follow it down into that canyon you’d end up at a bunch of dinosaur fossils.” “Real fossils?” “Yes. Still embedded in the rocks. There’s a walking...

Adventure / Facts & Trivia / Nature / Tropics

Swimming Beneath a Tropical Waterfall

Most people have a fairly romantic notion of swimming beneath a waterfall. I’ve done it. More than once. You’ve probably never given this much thought but there are different types of waterfalls. When fantasizing about swimming under a waterfall, most people think about what’s called a free-standing waterfall. That’s where...